Our Blog

May 14, 2021

CBF Takes a Virtual Trip to Washington to Advocate for Access to Justice

Each spring, the CBF works with leaders from the CBA, Illinois State Bar Association, and American Bar Association to meet with our Illinois congressional delegation and their hardworking staff to discuss important access to justice issues that require federal solutions.

Until last year, these meetings have always been held in person in Washington, but pandemic restrictions […]

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May 8, 2021

Unbundling Legal Services: A Win-Win-Win for Lawyers, Courts, and the Public

The CBF was one of the lead partners in the national Unbundled Legal Services in the New Normal conference last month, a virtual gathering that attracted hundreds of attendees and yielded some great resources for lawyers and other stakeholders.

The other lead partners in the conference were the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal […]

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May 4, 2021

New CBF Director of Development Opportunity

Do you know someone looking for an opportunity to help take the CBF and access to justice to the next level? The CBF is in the market for a new Director of Development to join our team. The Director will own responsibility for significant portions of our fundraising program working collaboratively with the Executive Director, […]

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April 28, 2021

Lawyering After the Pandemic—A Jolt to a Better Future If We Take the Cue

As a profession that puts a premium on precedent and still regularly uses terminology from hundreds of years ago that few understand, change does not come easy to us as lawyers. But like everything else in our lives, the practice of law got an epic jolt when the pandemic hit.

As was true with the courts, the way lawyers quickly adapted to the new reality was impressive and inspiring, and now the million-dollar question is what we will do with that newfound knowledge and experience as we start the transition to a new normal. That is the backdrop for the following three-step process towards a better, more inclusive, and more accessible profession going forward, and the next stop on the journey to fulfilling my 2021 Resolution for the profession.

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April 23, 2021

justicecorps 2020Illinois JusticeCorps Seeking Fellowship Applications

With a significant increase in court filings expected in the aftermath of the pandemic, access to reliable, accurate information about the court system for people in need will be more important than ever. Fortunately, the Illinois JusticeCorps program continues to be an important point of access to court information for people without lawyers. The CBF […]

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April 20, 2021

Welcome Melanie and Introducing Our New CBF Staff Leadership Team

It has been a time of transition at the CBF as we said goodbye to our longtime Associate Director, Dina Merrell last month. However, with change comes new opportunities, and we are pleased to announce a new CBF leadership team who will work closely with CBF Executive Director Bob Glaves to lead the CBF into […]

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April 16, 2021

justice kilbrideCBF Inaugurates New Public Service Award in Honor of former Illinois Supreme Court Justice Thomas L. Kilbride

To honor a truly exemplary public servant and the many unsung lawyers and judges who represent the best of public service in the law, the CBF is inaugurating the Thomas L. Kilbride Public Service Award this year.

As CBF Executive Director Bob Glaves said as part of a recent Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Access to […]

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March 25, 2021

Just Because We Can Doesn’t Mean We Should, and Just Because We Should Can Never Again Mean We Can’t—Part Two

Doing a sequel is a fraught exercise. For every classic movie like the “The Godfather” or “Die Hard” that nailed it a second time, there are many more examples like “Caddyshack” and “Airplane” where an ill-advised sequel did no justice to the original masterpiece.

With knowledge of that risk, it feels particularly timely to do a follow-up to my post last May, one of the more popular ones in Bobservations history (a low bar, yes). It has only become clearer over the past ten months how critical it will be for remote access to remain a central feature of the court system for the long haul. At the same time, however, we have also learned some things during that time that will be key to making a hybrid system work effectively.

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March 24, 2021

Illinois Immigration Funder Collaborative Continues to Strengthen Our Community

Since its inception in 2012, the Illinois Immigration Funder Collaborative (IFC) has grown from a handful of founders to more than 20 foundation partners and has made more than $12 million in grants to serve immigrants throughout Illinois, and the CBF is proud to have been there from the start.

The IFC was formed in 2012 […]

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March 24, 2021

dina merrellOur Heartfelt Thanks to Dina!

The end of March will mark the end of the era at the CBF when our longtime Associate Director Dina Merrell moves on from Chicago and from the CBF after a truly amazing 16+ year run.

Our friends and partners at CARPLS did a great tribute to Dina this month that included great quotes from many […]

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